


Secret Santas and Secret Hearts

by Stitches04



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Artist Lance (Voltron), Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Christmas, Christmas Fluff, F/F, Fluff, Gay Keith (Voltron), Guitarist Keith (Voltron), Holidays, Japanese Shiro (Voltron), M/M, Musician Keith (Voltron), Musicians, Mutual Pining, One Shot, Pining Keith (Voltron), Secret Santa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-11 08:14:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,213
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28468092
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stitches04/pseuds/Stitches04
Summary: Lance is stuck on what to get Keith for a Secret Santa exchange, but what happens when inspiration strikes him? Will his one chance at impressing his kind of not really crush succeed or go down in flames?
Relationships: Adam/Shiro (Voltron), Allura/Romelle (Voltron), Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 47





	Secret Santas and Secret Hearts

“What the hell am I supposed to get him?!” Lance exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. 

The time had come for the annual Voltron Secret Santa, a tradition the friend group had started since entering college. Now that the holidays were fast approaching, Shiro and Adam, their friends that graduated many years ago, helped put together this year’s exchange. This would probably be the last time they would be able to get together in person, as this was everyone’s senior year. So they had to go big or go home.

However, Lance was finding that extremely difficult when the person who he had to buy a gift for is Keith. 

“I’m sure you’ll be able to find something,” Pidge responded, scrolling absentmindedly through her phone.

“Yeah but this is Keith we’re talking about!” Lance said, crossing his arms. “What if I get him something he doesn’t like? And he doesn’t like a lot of things.”

“Like what?” Hunk asked from behind, carrying a few bags of his own.

Lance started counting off things with his fingers. “Sparkly things. Anything loud. Beaches.” Pidge shot him a weird look at that one, to which Lance said, “The sand gets everywhere. He doesn’t even like shopping that much! I don’t even know where he shops, so I can’t get him a gift card.”

“Okay I’m starting to see your point,” Hunk said as he readjusted his grip on the shoppings bags. “Oh, can we stop at this Uncle Ulysses? I’ve been craving their cinnamon pretzels for days now!”

After a brief pit stop to get some pretzels and drinks, the trio made their way to a table. Hunk rested his shopping bags on the spare chair beside him.

“What did you guys get for your secret santas?” Lance asked after taking a sip of his Diet Moke. “Maybe I can get some inspiration.”

Pidge wiped her hands on a napkin. “I got Allura this jewelry set she’s been looking for.” She pulled out her phone and flashed Lance a quick photo of it. It was a matching necklace and earring set. The necklace had a thin golden chain with a dark crystal crescent moon hanging at the end. Next to it was a four corner star, also in gold. A smaller interlocked necklace, more like a choker, had two golden four-point stars with a clear crystal in each one, and the center had a bigger star made of off-black crystals. The earring set was one dark crystallized moon and a golden sun with clear crystals. 

Lance’s breath got knocked out of him the moment he saw it. From how long he knew Allura, this was definitely something she would wear, especially on her dates with Romelle. Allura always loved space themed things. She said she connected with it ever since she was a little kid. Probably explained her fascination and practice with tarot decks and crystals. 

“Allura will love it!” Lance said with a smile, but it disappeared as quickly as it had come. “Keith doesn’t wear jewelry, so that’s a bust.” He turned to Hunk. “What did you get for yours?”

Hunk grinned. “I’m glad you asked!” He reached into one of his bags and pulled out a cardboard box. Printed on a sticker on the front is a picture of a tea kettle and cup set. The kettle itself was an obsidian cast iron with tiny ridges and bumps along the surface. The lid also had these ridges and a simple knob at the top. Arcing over the top was a bamboo-like carrying handle. Each of the cups matched the coal black and style of the kettle.

“I figured Shiro has been wanting to teach Adam more about his Japanese roots, and this could be a great introduction to it!” Hunk tucked it safely back into the bag. “Plus, Adam told me the original one they had broke during their move. Apparently Cosmo got too excited when Keith helped out.”

Lance chuckled at that. “Keith said Cosmo saw a squirrel. The rest was history.”

“I don’t think Keith likes tea. Well, not as much as Shiro,” Pidge pointed out.

Lance slumped against his seat, popping a pretzel bite into his mouth. “That’s a bust, too. I’m not sure.”

The secret santa was going to be a bust if he couldn’t find anything for Lance. He didn’t want to be the person who just got them a Visa gift card so Keith could pick out whatever he wanted. Even Hunk and Pidge got these extravagant gifts that Lance would never outdo. How was he supposed to shop for the most unshoppable person in their friend group?

Lance closed his eyes for a moment. He could already imagine the disaster that the last night of classes, their exchange night, would be if Lance didn’t get a good gift. Everyone casting him disapproving glances. Shiro rubbing Keith’s back in comfort. Keith’s face becoming as red as his jacket and probably losing his temper. Lance could practically feel the humiliation rolling off of him from here in the mall.

Lance opened his eyes and finished off his pretzel bites. Hunk licked off the remaining grains of cinnamon sugar off of his hands before turning to the group. Pidge had already been done with her snack, just finishing off a cherry slushie. 

“Do you guys mind if we run to the music store real quick?” Hunk asked, stretching his arms. “I’ve been meaning to get some sheet music for Shay as a Christmas gift.”

“Sure, buddy,” Lance answered as he stood. “She sings, right?”

“She sure does. Has the nicest voice in the universe.” Hunk sported a lovesick grin, which Lance admired. 

Hunk always gave love to any of his friends, but for Shay that love was endless. They’ve been together for a year now and Lance was happy for Hunk. But a part of him wished he had something like the relationship Hunk and Shay had. Maybe even with… 

No, that wouldn’t happen. Never in a million years. 

Lance instead shoved aside the thought and tried to focus back on the task at hand. He didn’t need to think about Keith’s potential look of disappointment and resentment if he failed at securing a gift. He didn’t need to think about how much it would pain Lance, as if Keith’s strong gaze would stab a knife through his heart. He didn’t need to think about how Keith’s eyes alone could save him and kill him all at once.

Eventually the trio approached a local music store located on the outskirts of the mall named “Bach in a Minuet.” Hunk chuckled at the pun as they walked through the doors. A small piano riff played as they entered.

To their left were several shelves and aisles of various forms of sheet music, each organized in accordance to instrument as well as composers. A few of the most common ones that Lance caught sight of were different variations of Disney musical songs, specifically Let it Go. Lance cringed at the immediate thought of that song becoming popular again. 

To their right was the check-out counter. The clerk that would have been there was off in the corner assisting a family that was looking at keyboards for their daughter. Hunk immediately made his way toward the strings section of the sheet music. Pidge followed after him, but Lance wandered towards the left most wall.

Hanging in an array of patterns and fashions were a multitude of guitars. From reds and tans and electric and acoustic, to simple designs and complex flames spiraling across the body. Lance knew that his abuelo played a lot of guitar back in the day. It was actually how he was able to win over his abuelita in the first place back in Cuba. The rest is history. 

Lance had wanted to learn guitar in his youth, but his family couldn’t afford it. Soon all of his siblings would want to have lessons and that was something Mama wouldn’t be able to shell out given she was working two jobs to keep the family afloat. Mama showed him how far hard work could get anyone, and to this day she is one of his biggest role models. 

However, the arts were something Lance didn’t need lessons for. He looked up videos on Youtube in the early days and saved up his birthday money to purchase some supplies for himself. His local library even had books on drawing techniques that he would check out from time to time. To this day the edition of Drawing for Dummies has his name in the back cover stamped on the most. 

He loved how much he lost himself while he was drawing. Even if it was something as simple as a little sketch, Lance found the time easily passed by and only the comforting orange of the setting sun to warn him of how much time he had spent. The walls in his room back home were covered with some of his creations. He dedicated the wall directly next to his bed for a timeline of his progression in drawing. 

It started on the corner closest to his door and pages of tiny stick figures with triangle skirts and smiling suns. Eventually the pages melted into more developed animated sketches of some of his favorite cartoon characters like Danny Phantom (bisexual icon) and Kim Possible (also bisexual icon). The drawings on the far end of the wall were ones of his own creations. Original characters that he dreamed up that no one else would see. Well, besides his mom and his friends. 

Maybe one day he could show Keith.

As Lance turned a corner, his heart nearly dropped through the floor. Resting comfortably on a guitar stand was a basic, slate black guitar. It shouldn’t have caught his attention, because Lance was always a sucker for the elaborate and fabulous. However, this guitar got his artist brain launching fireworks. Lance could envision the multitude of designs he could paint on the body. 

Lance knew Keith played guitar. There had been a few times where Shiro hosted a small party at his apartment off campus. Instead of blasting music through the speakers, Keith would grab the guitar he just happened to bring with him and play some tunes. Sometimes it was acoustic versions of some songs from My Chemical Romance or Sleeping with Sirens, but others Lance didn’t expect Keith to know, like “Can’t Help Falling in Love” and “I’m Yours.” 

He remembered how hard his heart thumped against his chest during those songs. How he wished that he was on the receiving end of Keith’s voice. 

He walked over to the guitar and glanced at the neck, where a tiny price tag hung precariously just waiting to be picked up. It was originally at $100, but it had since then been crossed out in red pen and a new price written in the corner. Only $75.

Lance had been saving up his money from commissions to get his gift for Keith. He didn’t expect to spend much of it. But now, he knew exactly how he was going to spend it. 

The clerk that was helping the family from before now walked over to him. Her dirty blonde hair was messily pulled up into a high ponytail, which showed off the freckles that danced across her cheeks and nose. She looked about Lance’s age. “Anything I can help you with?”

Lance flashed his award-winning grin. “Yeah, actually. I’ll take this guitar.”

\--------------------------

Finally the day had arrived. It was the Sunday before the last week of classes, which was always stressful as is. Lance was internally freaking out about his modern genetics course to finish off his marine biology requirements, not because the course was hard. The professor has been a huge stickler during the entire semester. He forced students to submit obituaries if they had a family death and gave very little assistance during his office hours. On top of it, he was a rough grader. 

Overall, Lance was prepared to fail, but at least he could take it with dignity. That, and he would leave a harsh review on the course evaluations that were due this week. 

Despite all the high tensions about passing classes and getting last minute assignments done, the Voltron Secret Santa still went on. Lance remembered that having this break time before finals week definitely helped him to refocus during his freshman year. If it weren’t for them, he would have failed his intro to biology course with Professor Coran. 

The group had gathered at Shiro and Adam’s apartment and one by one exchanged gifts. Pidge went first and gave Allura the necklace and matching earrings. She immediately adorned herself with them and squealed, which made Romelle laugh. Allura then gave her gift to Hunk, which was a newly binded cookbook full of all of Hunk’s homemade recipes, as well as a few favorites that he sometimes worked with. Lance could see his eyes sparkling as he peeled back the Christmas tree themed wrapping paper. 

Hunk proceeded to hand Shiro the new tea kettle and cup set that he showed them in the mall, and Shiro thanked him. Adam aside of him looked upon it with eagerness in his eyes. It warmed Lance’s heart to know Adam was so invested in everything Shiro was and did. Lance wished he had someone like that in his life.

Shiro was up next, and he passed a snowman themed bag over to Pidge, who followed by tearing out the candy cane tissue paper and gasping. Inside was a new copy of Cyberpunk 2077 for the PS5, which had Pidge freaking the fuck out. She bolted out of her seat and hugged Shiro. 

Lance grinned, seeing all of his friends so elated with all of their gifts. However, something didn’t sit right with him. Usually the loop would keep going between everyone. But this time, it seemed that the loop had stopped. Lance looked around and felt his heart rise to his throat when he realized there were two people left.

He found Keith’s dark violet eyes staring back at him. They had each other. They were each other’s secret santa’s.

Lance wasn’t sure if he was excited or even more nervous than he had already been.

He cleared his throat to say, “You can go first,” right as Keith had said “You go ahead.” There was a brief moment of awkward silence following. Lance felt everyone’s eyes tearing into the two of them, waiting for the first real move. Finally he gathered the courage to speak again. “You can go first, Keith.”

Keith nodded and pulled out from behind his chair a pretty simple brown gift bag with different colored snowflakes and white tissue paper flowing out of the top. “Merry Christmas, Lance,” Keith said with an unexpected tenderness to his voice. His gaze drifted to the floor in… was that nervousness?

Lance slid the bag towards him and onto his lap. He carefully tugged the paper out and onto the floor. Once he saw what was inside, his jaw dropped to the floor. His eyes whipped to Keith.    
  


“You did NOT!” Lance exclaimed as a grin found its way onto his face, to which Keith shrugged and tried to hide a smile but failed miserably.

“What did you get, Lance?” Allura asked in her usual British accent. 

He pulled out a cardboard box that had, pictured on the cover, a face mask machine. The main part of the device was some kind of juicer made of white plastic and sleek stainless steel. At the very bottom was a tiny slit that led into an oval tray, with thin rectangles for the eyes, nose and mouth. Lance hugged it to his chest. 

“I’ve been wanting one of these for months!” Lance looked back down at the gift like if he looked away it would disappear. This had to be a dream, right? Keith, getting him something he actually wanted and not a gift card. If this was a dream, he didn’t want to wake up.

Lance met Keith’s eyes, the smile still on his face. “Thank you Keith. I’m definitely using this when I get back to my apartment.”

Keith gave a shy smile back. For a moment, Lance swore he saw a tinge of red on his face, but he was probably just imagining it. Right?

“Okay, my turn!” Lance placed the mask machine back in the bag and stood from his chair. “But you gotta close your eyes.”

Keith raised an eyebrow, now covered by his dark mullet. “Do I have to?”

“Yes! Because I couldn’t find a bag big enough for it. Now shush and close your eyes.” 

Keith rolled his eyes in slight protest but listened regardless and shut his eyes. There was a small smirk playing on his lips when he did. Lance ran to the hallway closet and pulled out the guitar case that he had hid there. He had to get there half an hour before everyone else to scout out a good hiding spot. 

He appeared back in the living room, prompting a gasp from both Romelle and Allura. They were the only people besides Keith who had no idea what he had gotten. Lance carefully placed the guitar case at Keith’s feet and made his way back to his seat. “Okay, open your eyes.”

As Keith readjusted his sight, his eyebrows knit in confusion. Then his eyes caught sight of the case at his feet and Lance heard a breath leave him. He reached down to unlatch the metal clasps at each end, then lifted the lid.

Keith was still. Suddenly Lance went into panic mode. Was he happy? Was he upset? Did he hate it? What if the design wasn’t good enough for him? Lance’s fingers dug into his jeans because he couldn’t latch onto anything or anyone else. 

Then, as if hitting play on a movie, Keith moved. He reached his hand under the neck of the guitar and lifted it to his lap for all to see. That’s when the rest of the room was speechless.

Although Hunk and Pidge had been there when he purchased it, they were completely in the dark when it came to Lance’s enhancements to it. Across the left side of the guitar, opposite of the pickguard, were red and orange flames that curled and twisted, as if eager to swallow the instrument whole and take it to its ashen grave. They danced around the hole at the center, which was now rimmed with a thin line of silver paint. 

The sides have small little images painted across them. Everything from Cosmo, Keith’s dog, to his motorcycle and even some music notes in silver. It was simplistic, but it was simplistically Keith in every meaning of the word.

Hunk leaned over to whisper in Lance’s ear. “You really outdid yourself, buddy.”

“Keith, you should play us something,” Shiro proposed.

Everyone nodded and muttered in agreement. Keith nodded and adjusted the guitar so it was in playing position. He did some quick tuning and adjusting the pegs as he went along each string with care. There was a few moments pause, then eventually Keith launched into a Christmas song.

As he played his own rendition of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” Lance watched as Keith’s fingers danced over the strings in their own little waltz. There was a lightness to his playing that Lance had almost memorized, with each little pluck and strum that sent chords off in his own heart. Keith was usually rough around the edges, but whenever he played, this was where he was his most vulnerable. His eyes would be half-lidded, lost in his own creations. Sometimes his raven hair would drop to cover his eyes, and he wouldn’t fix it until after he finished. 

When Keith got to the line, “From now on, our troubles will be out of sight,” his gaze lifted to meet Lance’s and Lance was immediately met with a wave of warmth flowing through every fiber of his being. Here, Lance made many, many realizations.

One: He yearned to have Keith sing to him every night. He needed to hear his velvet voice in every way possible.

Two: Keith was absolutely beautiful and it left Lance speechless.

Three: Lance was undoubtedly and utterly falling in love with Keith Kogane. 

Some light clapping snapped Lance out of his internal trance. Keith had finished and the rest of the group was packing up their own gifts and throwing away wrapping paper. As everyone else dispersed, Keith and Lance were left in their seats. Keith looked down at his guitar again, his eyes grazing over each of the intricate little details of him painted on the edges, then looked up to Lance. 

“Thank you, Lance. Seriously.”

Lance’s heart fluttered like a hummingbird’s wings. “O-of course.”

A quaint, yet mildly uncomfortable silence filled the space between them. Lance and Keith were still tethered together in this musical moment and Lance didn’t want to leave it.

Eventually Keith cleared his throat. “So… pretty weird we got each other, right?”

Lance nodded. “Yeah. It was a little weird.” 

At that moment, Pidge passed in Lance’s peripheral vision. For a moment, he thought he saw Pidge smirking, but brushed it off. 

When Lance turned back to Keith, he was absentmindedly strumming the strings in staccato notes, wandering aimlessly with no melody. “Will you be bringing that with you to every party now?”

Keith chuckled. “Only to the ones you guys are at. You know how I am around other people.”

He was still like himself around us, but just more open. Keith laughed more, got along with jokes more. But he was still his stubborn, hot-headed self. But Lance tampered down on the thought.

“Have you thought about writing your own stuff?” Lance asked out of curiosity.

Keith shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t think I’m that good at it. I’ve tried a couple of lyrics but…”

“Could I hear them?” Lance blurted out before his brain could even process.

Keith leaned back, shocked. “They’re not really the best.”

“I don’t care. It’ll sound good. You make everything sound good.” Heat rushed to his face realizing the context of that statement.

Keith studied him, his light plucks halting on the strings. “I… okay.” He adjusted the guitar in his lap and took a deep breath. Then he started strumming a few chords, and the lyrics poured out of him.

_ How is it so hard to love _

_ When that person as close as day? _

_ He’s right in front of me, _

_ And it scares me to stay. _

_ But every time I see his eyes, _

_ All the doubt inside me dies. _

_ He pulls me in like the sea, _

_ And everything I love about him consumes me. _

Lance’s heart stopped in his chest. Keith wrote a love song? Keith. A small tickle of a thought ran through Lance’s mind, but he tried to shove it away. No he couldn’t-

And then he continued.

_ I don’t know how to get the words out, _

_ They disappear whenever he’s around. _

_ His ocean eyes look about, _

_ Yet I can’t make a sound. _

_ He smells of sea salt and rain, _

_ And from afar it brings me pain _

_ That he can’t tuck me in at night _

_ Or be the one that makes things right. _

_ But I wish he would know.. _

He faded out, the soft strums becoming mere plucks, and then nothing. Then it hit Lance that Keith wasn’t looking away from him. That Keith was directing this _ to him. _ Even though there was silence, Lance was almost convinced Keith could hear the pounding of his heart against his chest. Heat crept up the back of his neck.

Keith’s violet eyes kept pulling him in, a galaxy of their own that Lance wanted to explore. The pools of molten stars flickered down to Lance’s lips, and from there Lance was officially lost in everything Keith.

He wasn’t sure who kissed who first, but regardless it was a supernova between them. It was New Year’s behind Lance’s eyes. Keith tasted of strawberries and faint hints of whiskey, and Lance wanted every last part of it. Keith reached up to cup his face and Lance dove in further until he forgot everyone and everything. There was only Keith and Keith was kissing him to the ends of the earth.

Lance wasn’t sure how much time had passed before they both pulled away, breathing hard for air they clearly lacked. Keith’s lips were a little red, but his face was even more red. 

“So was that song for me?” Lance breathed out, smirking.

Keith frowned and pulled away. “God you’re such an idiot.”

Lance panicked and took Keith’s hand. “But I’m your idiot.” Lance saw Keith’s eyes widen and he reeled his hand back. He fucked up. “I mean, uh, if you wanted. I don’t know how you are with dating or if that’s even your thing or-”

Keith placed his gloved hand on Lance’s shoulder and that shut him up. “Lance.”

“Yeah?”

“Shut up.” And Keith kissed him again.

And it was the best Christmas gift that Lance could have ever received. 

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Hey all! This story is a gift to my dear friend and fellow die hard Klance shipper Kass! This was a true joy to write and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did writing it. Happy holidays everyone, and stay safe <3


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